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Live: The Velvet Underground – Live at The Boston Tea Party (1969)

On a cold Friday night in January of 1969, The Velvet Underground performed the second of three shows at their home away from home, The Boston Tea Party located at 53 Berkeley Street in Boston, MA. Since its opening in 1967, The Velvets had performed numerous gigs at the venue, with ticket prices ranging between $3.00 and $3.50 a show. But this recording in particular stands out as the best of the lot, featuring highlight numbers including “Move Right In,” “Run Run Run,” “I Can’t Stand It,” “Beginning To See The Light,” and “Sister Ray.” Future member of the Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman, who was in attendance that night, had this to say about the show:

“Sometimes you just plain couldn’t figure out where on the stage those strange sounds and harmonics were coming from, because of the eerie calm with which they played and improvised in front of you, and because every time they’d come to town they’d introduce at least one new song that would, for better or worse, sound like nothing else that had gone before in rock music.”